"BJP ought to look into details": Satyendar Jain hits back after getting bail in DJB STP tender case

Speaking to ANI, Jain said the allegations ignored the fact that he was in jail under a money laundering case when the disputed contracts were finalised.

"They (BJP) really ought to look into the details of the case. When I was previously arrested by the ED and sent to jail, four projects that had been tendered and allotted were processed in my absence. Regarding the tenders, what took place on my watch was an 'in-principle' approval. Yet, the ACB alleged that the government suffered a loss of hundreds of crores. I went to jail on May 30. The projects were awarded months later--specifically, by March 2023. Four projects were awarded at a cost Rs 400 crore higher than the original Rs 1,940 crore figure. They argue that the rate was correct--that Rs 1,940 crore was the right amount--even though the estimate during my tenure was Rs 1,540 crore. They claim the initial estimate was wrong," he said.

"If ministers were to face prosecution simply because a tender was issued with an incorrect estimate. The actual value is revealed only after the bids come in, and I was in jail when the bids were received and the contracts awarded," Jain added.

Jain also highlighted his limited role as the Minister at the time.

"Yes, I was a minister, but I was a minister without portfolio. I held no specific portfolio. How do you explain to them that a minister without a portfolio has no connection to that specific department? The BJP can say anything," he said.

Jain was arrested by Delhi's Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) over alleged irregularities and tender manipulation in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) sewage treatment plant project on August 18. Rouse Avenue Court granted him bail on Thursday.

Shifting his focus to the 2027 Punjab Assembly polls, Jain claimed that that BJP's is accusing AAP leaders visiting Punjab of "usurping the rights of the local people."

He dismissed the charge as baseless, drawing a parallel with the BJP's own practice of appointing state in-charges.

"Being appointed by the party as an in-charge or co-in-charge for a state hardly seems like grounds for an allegation. Doesn't the BJP appoint its own in-charges? Doesn't the BJP appoint co-in-charges for the states? Whichever party it is, everyone campaigns for their own party. There is no basis for an allegation here," he said.

"If one goes there to campaign for one's party or to help the party grow, does that amount to usurping rights? In that case, why do BJP leaders go? BJP leaders go there too. They travel from here, from Delhi. Should they not go either? Are they going there to usurp people's rights?" he added. (ANI)